56338 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ Accordingly, we are adopting as a 

final rule, without change, the interim 

rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and 

that was published at 71 FR 35491–

35493 on June 21, 2006. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of 

September 2006. 

Elizabeth E. Gaston, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E6–15899 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 93 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0107] 

Spring Viremia of Carp; Import 

Restrictions on Certain Live Fish, 

Fertilized Eggs, and Gametes 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule; delay of effective 

date. 

SUMMARY: We recently amended the 

regulations to restrict the importation 

into the United States of live fish, 

fertilized eggs, and gametes of fish 

species that are susceptible to spring 

viremia of carp, a serious contagious 

viral disease of carp. That interim rule 

was scheduled to become effective on 

September 29, 2006. We are delaying 

that effective date by 30 days. This 

delay is needed to give importers and 

foreign exporters additional time to 

meet requirements of the rule. 

DATES: The effective date for the interim 

rule amending 9 CFR part 93, published 

at 71 FR 51429, August 30, 2006, is 

delayed until October 30, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Peter L. Merrill, Aquaculture Specialist, 

National Center for Import and Export, 

VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 734–

0649; or Dr. Jill B. Rolland, Fishery 

Biologist, National Center for Animal 

Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 46, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1231; (301) 734–7727. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Spring viremia of carp (SVC) is a 

disease of certain species of finfish, 

caused by an eponymous rhabdovirus. 

The following species are considered 

susceptible to SVC: Common carp, 

including koi (Cyprinus carpio), grass 

carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), silver 

carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), 

bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), 

Crucian carp (Carassius carassius), 

goldfish (Carassius auratus), tench 

(Tinca tinca), and sheatfish (Silurus 

glanis). SVC was first reported in 

Yugoslavia in 1969 and has since spread 

to other European countries as well as 

Asia. SVC is considered extremely 

contagious, and there are currently no 

U.S.-approved vaccines or treatments 

for the virus. 

On August 30, 2006, we published a 

final rule in the Federal Register (71 FR 

51429–51437) amending 9 CFR part 93 

by establishing regulations to restrict the 

importation into the United States of 

live fish, fertilized eggs, and gametes of 

fish species that are susceptible to 

spring viremia of carp, a serious 

contagious viral disease of carp. Under 

that rule, importers of SVC-susceptible 

species must obtain an import permit 

and a health certificate from the 

shipment’s region of origin certifying 

that the live fish, fertilized eggs, or 

gametes originated in an SVC-free 

region. This certification must be 

supported by ongoing SVC surveillance 

for 2 years conducted under specific 

conditions. In addition, live fish, 

fertlized eggs, and gametes of SVCsusceptible species will be subject to 

other restrictions that they have not 

been in the past, such as having to be 

imported through designated ports of 

entry and meeting containment 

requirements for shipments that are in 

transit through the United States. 

Importers will also be subject to user 

fees for obtaining import permits and 

port of entry inspections. Live cultures 

of SVC virus, preserved SVC virus viral 

RNA or DNA, tissue samples containing 

viable SVC virus, or other specimens 

intended for diagnostic or research 

purposes and which contain viable SVC 

virus will also be allowed importation 

only under permit in accordance with 9 

CFR part 122. 

Delay in Effective Date 

Since the rule’s publication, APHIS 

has received requests from U.S. 

importers and foreign exporters of these 

fish species (which include koi and 

goldfish, two economically important 

commodities) as well as from a number 

of foreign government authorities 

seeking an additional period of time in 

which to prepare to meet these 

requirements. In response, we are 

delaying the effective date until 

October 30, 2006. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301–8317; 

21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 

CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of 

September 2006. 

W. Ron DeHaven, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–8322 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration 

9 CFR Part 205 

RIN 0580–AA93 

Clear Title Technical Changes 

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule. 

SUMMARY: We are issuing this interim 

rule to allow States to use an approved 

unique identifier as an alternative to a 

social security number or taxpayer 

identification number in their systems 

providing clear title information. We are 

making additional changes to the clear 

title regulations as required by 

amendments made by the 2002 Farm 

Bill. The primary effect of these changes 

will be to protect the identity of the 

producers of farm products. Secondary 

effects of the technical changes will be 

to improve the operation of the program 

and provide the States with more 

flexibility. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 27, 

2006. 

Comment Date: We will consider 

comments that we receive by November 

27, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on this rule. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• E-Mail: Send comments via 

electronic mail to 

comments.gipsa@usda.gov. 

• Mail: Send hardcopy written 

comments to Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

1647–S, Washington, DC 20250–3604. 

• Fax: Send comments by facsimile 

transmission to: (202) 690–2755. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver 

comments to: Tess Butler, GIPSA, 

USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Room 1647–S, Washington, DC 

20250–3604. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulation.gov. Follow the 

on-line instruction for submitting 

comments. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 56339 

To read comments: All comments 

received will be made available for 

public review at the above address 

during regular business hours (7 CFR 

1.27(b)). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jens 

Knutson, Economist, Industry Analysis 

Division, USDA GIPSA, (202) 720–3128 

or e-mail at Jens.N.Knutson@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Grain 

Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 

Administration (GIPSA) administers the 

clear title program for the Secretary of 

Agriculture. The clear title program is 

authorized by Section 1324 of the Food 

Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1631) and 

requires that States implementing a 

central filing system for notification to 

the public of liens on farm products 

must have such systems certified by the 

Secretary of Agriculture. When someone 

purchases a farm product in one of the 

19 states that currently have certified 

central filing systems, they can check 

for liens against that farm product 

through the State’s central filing system. 

USDA, through GIPSA’s Packers and 

Stockyards Program, certifies the State’s 

Central Filing System. 

Our regulations in 9 CFR part 205 

(regulations) provide guidance to the 

States about the requirements for their 

clear title program and requirements for 

approval of their systems. 

Changes to the Regulations 

This interim final rule encompasses 

several changes to our clear title 

regulations that are mandated by 

changes to the clear title authorizing 

legislation. We discuss in the following 

section changes to authorizing 

legislation that require changes to our 

current clear title regulations and then 

identify the regulatory changes to be 

made. The changes are presented by 

topic rather than by section. Then, at the 

end of this document, we present the 

complete changes to 9 CFR part 205, 

Clear Title—Protection for Purchasers of 

Farm Products, which this interim rule 

implements. 

Section 776 of Division A, Title VII, 

Public Law 108–447, amended Section 

1324(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

(7 U.S.C. 1631(c)) for the privacy 

protection of certain sellers of farm 

products to allow States to use ‘‘an other 

approved unique identifier’’ as an 

alternative to a social security number 

or Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

taxpayer identification number in their 

systems providing clear title 

information. The amendment further 

specified that the term ‘‘approved 

unique identifier’’ means ‘‘a number, 

combination of numbers and letters, or 

other identifier selected by the Secretary 

of State using a selection system or 

method approved by the Secretary of 

Agriculture.’’

One of the requirements in our 

current regulations is that the social 

security number or an IRS taxpayer 

identification number of the debtor 

must be provided. Sections 205.103 and 

205.105 require (1) the social security 

number or IRS taxpayer identification 

number be included as necessary 

information on an effective financing 

statement (EFS) filed with the State and 

(2) the master list developed by the 

State must be able to be delivered to a 

registrant in numerical order by social 

security number or IRS taxpayer 

identification number. 

We are revising the regulations to 

implement the addition of ‘‘an other 

approved unique identifier’’ made in the 

authorizing legislation. We considered 

the option of specifying what an 

approved unique identifier would be, 

but decided to allow each State the 

flexibility to request approval of the 

method or system used to select a 

unique identifier that will work best in 

its clear title program. 

We have been in contact in recent 

months with several States interested in 

amending their clear title systems and 

believe sufficient interest exists in 

States’ implementation of the 

legislatively-mandated changes to the 

clear title program—including the use of 

an approved unique identifier as an 

alternative to a social security or IRS 

taxpayer identification number in a 

State’s EFS and clear title master list—

to warrant this interim final rule at this 

time. If States opt to discontinue the 

publication of social security numbers 

as a means of identification in States’

clear title master lists, the resulting 

increased privacy protection will benefit 

individuals identified in those master 

lists. Discontinuing the publication of 

social security numbers is an increasing 

practice in regulatory and business 

transactions throughout the United 

States. 

We are making the following changes 

in the clear title regulations to allow the 

use of an approved unique identifier in 

the certified State systems providing 

clear title information: 

• In section 205.1, Definitions, we are 

adding a definition for ‘‘approved 

unique identifier’’. 

• In section 205.101, Certification—

request and processing, we are adding a 

new paragraph (b)(11) to show what the 

State will be required to provide when 

applying to us for certification of its 

central filing system when it will use an 

approved unique identifier. 

• In section 205.103, EFS—minimum 

information, we are revising paragraph 

(a)(5) to allow either a social security 

number, IRS taxpayer identification 

number, or other approved unique 

identifier of each debtor be included in 

the minimum information necessary on 

an EFS. 

• In section 205.105, Master list and 

portion thereof distributed to 

registrants—format, we are revising 

paragraph (a) to allow an approved 

unique identifier to be used in place of 

a social security number or IRS taxpayer 

identification number for the 

numerically ordered information that 

the State’s system must report. 

Revisions to the regulations are also 

needed to correspond to the 2002 Farm 

Bill amendments. The 2002 Farm Bill 

amendments to Section 1324 of the 

Food Security Act relate to electronic 

filing, EFS content, and Central Filing 

System procedure. The intent of these 

amendments was to relax some 

signature requirements, clarify terms, 

and facilitate electronic filing of lenders’

security interests. These technical 

modifications will improve the 

operation of the program and provide 

the States with more flexibility. 

Specifically, the legislation: 

(1) Allows the non-electronically 

reproduced copy of the EFS to be 

signed, authorized, or otherwise 

authenticated by the debtor and filed by 

the secured party in place of the 

requirement for the statement to be 

signed by both the debtor and the 

secured party and filed by the secured 

party; 

(2) Allows the written amendments to 

the EFS to be signed, authorized, or 

otherwise authenticated by the debtor in 

place of the requirement for the 

statement to be signed and filed; 

(3) Allows notices that an EFS has 

lapsed to be signed, authorized, or 

otherwise authenticated by the secured 

party in place of the requirement for the 

notice to be signed by the secured party; 

(4) Allows the EFS to identify the 

county or parish in which the farm 

product is produced or located, instead 

of requiring a reasonable description of 

the property; 

(5) Allows the written notice of the 

security interest to identify the county 

or parish in which the farm product is 

produced or located, instead of 

requiring a reasonable description of the 

property; 

(6) Allows the written amendments to 

the security interest notice to be signed, 

authorized, or otherwise authenticated 

in place of the requirement for the 

amendment to be signed; 

(7) Allows notice of lapse of the 

written notice of the security interest to 

be signed, authorized, or otherwise 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
56340 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

authenticated in place of the 

requirement for the notice to be signed; 

(8) Allows the notice of security 

interest to the commission merchant or 

selling agent to identify the county or 

parish in which the farm product is 

produced or located, instead of 

requiring a reasonable description of the 

property; 

(9) Allows the written amendments to 

the notice of security interest to the 

commission merchant or selling agent to 

be signed, authorized, or otherwise 

authenticated in place of the 

requirement for the statement to be 

signed; and 

(10) Allows the notice that the 

statement related to security interest has 

lapsed to be signed, authorized, or 

otherwise authenticated by the secured 

party in place of the requirement for the 

statement to be signed by the secured 

party. 

In addition, the following 

miscellaneous nonsubstantive changes 

were made to the legislation: 

a. Redesignated subsections after 

deleting a subsection, 

b. inserted ‘‘contains’’ to start two 

subsections, 

c. changed references to 

‘‘subparagraphs’’ to ‘‘subsections,’’

d. replaced ‘‘; and’’ with a period in 

a final subsection, and 

e. inserted the word ‘‘and’’ at the end 

of the next to the last subsections. 

Our regulations currently include 

requirements about the information of 

the location of farm products related to 

the county or parish in which the farm 

product is produced and require a 

reasonable description of the property. 

We are making the following changes in 

the clear title regulations to correspond 

to the changes made in the legislation in 

reference to the location of the farm 

products: 

• In section 205.103, EFS—minimum 

information, we are revising paragraph 

(a)(3) to allow the locations of the farm 

product to be included in the minimum 

information necessary on an EFS to be 

an identification of each county or 

parish in the same State where the farm 

product is produced or located. 

• In section 205.104, Registration of 

buyer, commission merchant, or selling 

agency—minimum information, we are 

revising paragraph (a)(3) by adding the 

words ‘‘or located’’ after the word 

‘‘produced.’’

• In section 205.105, Master list and 

portion thereof distributed to 

registrants—format, we are revising 

paragraph (a) to allow the State’s system 

to deliver information for any farm 

product produced or located in any 

county or parish of the State. 

• In section 205.207, ‘‘Amount’’ and 

‘‘reasonable description of the 

property,’’ we are revising the heading 

to refer to the county or parish in which 

the property is located instead of a 

reasonable description of the property. 

• In section 205.207, ‘‘Amount’’ and 

‘‘county or parish,’’ we are revising 

paragraph (a) to specify that the county 

or parish in which the product is 

located or produced does not need to be 

shown on every EFS and master list 

entry. 

• In section 205.207, ‘‘Amount’’ and 

‘‘county or parish,’’ we are revising 

paragraph (c) to allow the option for any 

EFS and master list entry to identify 

each county or parish in which the farm 

product is produced or located. 

• In section 205.207, ‘‘Amount’’ and 

‘‘county or parish,’’ we are revising 

paragraph (e) to describe what 

additional information about the 

amount is sufficient. 

• In section 205.210, Effect of EFS 

outside State in which filed, we are 

revising paragraph (b) to expand the 

ability to file an EFS to cover products 

in the system for the State in which it 

is produced or located. 

Currently, the regulations require the 

secured party and debtor to sign an EFS 

filed on paper with the State and EFS 

amendments filed on paper documents. 

We are making the following changes in 

the clear title regulations to correspond 

to changes made in the legislation in 

reference to allowing alternatives to 

signatures and other changes related to 

options to providing information on 

paper, such as electronic information: 

• In section 205.202, ‘‘Effective 

financing statement’’ or EFS, we are 

revising paragraph (b) to require an EFS 

to be signed, authorized, or otherwise 

authenticated only by the debtor. 

• In section 205.209, Amendment or 

continuation of EFS, we are revising 

paragraph (c) to specify that if an 

amendment is filed on a paper 

document that it must be signed, 

authorized, or otherwise authenticated 

only by the debtor. 

• In section 205.209, Amendment or 

continuation of EFS, we are revising 

paragraph (d) to specify that a 

continuation statement to continue the 

effective period of an EFS for 5 years 

need not be signed, authorized, or 

otherwise authenticated by the debtor. 

Our current regulations refer to 

sections of the authorizing legislation 

that were renumbered in the 2002 Farm 

Bill amendments. We are making the 

following corrections in the clear title 

regulations to correspond to changes 

made in the legislation: 

• In sections 205.106, 205.206, and 

205.207, we are correcting the 

references to subsection (c)(4)(D)(iv) to 

refer to subsection (c)(4)(C)(iv). 

• In section 205.107, we are 

correcting the reference to subsection 

(c)(4)(F) to refer to subsection (c)(4)(E). 

• In section 205.203, we are 

correcting the reference to subsection 

(c)(4)(D) to refer to subsection (c)(4)(C). 

• In section 205.205, we are 

correcting both of the references to 

subsection (c)(4)(H) to refer to 

subsection (c)(4)(G). 

• In section 205.209, we are 

correcting both of the references to 

subsection (c)(4)(E) to refer to 

subsection (c)(4)(D). 

We are also making several 

nonsubstantive changes to our 

regulations. In keeping with the 

guidance the Office of the Federal 

Register provides for listing definitions, 

we are deleting the lettered paragraph 

designations for the definitions in 

section 205.1 and rearranging the 

definitions in alphabetical order of the 

terms being defined. 

Information collection activities, 

which include recordkeeping, reporting, 

and third party disclosure, are reviewed 

and approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). We 

have approval from OMB for the 

information collection activities related 

to the clear title program; this approval 

was granted under OMB control number 

0580–0016. OMB grants information 

collection approval for no more than 3 

years at a time; the current approval for 

the clear title program expires on 

November 30, 2007. To comply with the 

requirement to display the control 

numbers assigned by OMB approving 

the information collection activities, we 

are adding the control number at the 

end of sections 205.101, 205.102, 

205.103, 205.104, 205.105, 205.106, 

205.107, 205.202, 205.203, 205.204, 

205.206, 205.207, 205.208, 205.209, and 

205.213 for which the information 

collection activities have been 

approved. 

Section 1324 of the Food Security Act 

of 1985 is the authorizing legislation for 

the clear title program. Throughout the 

regulations in 9 CFR part 205 the term 

‘‘the Section’’ is used, as defined in 9 

CFR 205.1, to mean Section 1324 of the 

Food Security Act of 1985. In the 

regulation in 9 CFR 205.101 (e), the term 

‘‘the Act’’ is used, without having been 

defined or any other clarifying 

information. For consistency with the 

rest of the clear title regulations, we are 

replacing the term ‘‘the Act’’ with the 

term ‘‘the Section’’ both times it appears 

in 9 CFR 205.101 (e). 

Finally, we are making minor 

editorial corrections in sections 205.101 

and 205.206. In section 205.101, we are 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 56341 

(1) inserting a serial comma in the list 

in paragraph (11)(ii) and (2) correcting 

the reference to the Agency and program 

in paragraph (c). In section 205.206, we 

are removing an unnecessary comma. 

Interim Rule 

We are issuing an interim rule with 

request for comments rather than a 

proposed rule because the Federal 

statutory language governing the 

operation of States’ clear title programs, 

and hence GIPSA’s certification of these 

programs, has changed, and GIPSA’s 

clear title regulations must reflect these 

statutory changes. Further, there is a 

strong public interest in issuing this rule 

as an interim rule. Several States have 

contacted GIPSA in recent months with 

requests to approve amendments to 

their clear title programs that reflect 

some, if not all, of the statutory changes 

governing the operation of the clear title 

program. GIPSA has approved all such 

State requests to amend their clear title 

requirements if the amendments adhere 

to the amended statutory language 

governing clear title programs. 

Additionally, GIPSA believes the 

regulatory changes in this interim rule 

are in the public interest to the extent 

they reduce the possibility of identity 

theft by allowing the use of approved 

unique identifiers in lieu of social 

security numbers or IRS taxpayer 

identification numbers in States’

published clear title master lists. The 

regulatory changes are also in the public 

interest in that they facilitate timelier 

and less restrictive operation of States’

clear title programs. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) designated this interim rule as 

not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. This interim 

rule changes GIPSA’s clear title 

regulations by allowing the use of 

approved unique identifiers in place of 

the former requirement that States use 

debtors’ social security numbers or IRS 

taxpayer identification numbers. The 

interim rule also makes changes to the 

clear title regulations as required by 

amendments made by the 2002 Farm 

Bill. These Farm Bill technical changes 

to the clear title program (1) facilitate 

electronic transmission of lien notices 

in States that have adopted central filing 

systems for farm products by no longer 

requiring signatures of the secured party 

and debtor, (2) alter the required 

description of products by allowing 

notices to indicate where a product is 

produced or located rather than only 

where it is produced, and (3) 

incorporate minor editorial changes. 

The parties primarily affected by the 

changes are producers and purchasers of 

farm products, State Secretaries of State 

in those States operating GIPSAcertified clear title central filing 

systems, and lending institutions in 

States or operating in States that have 

GIPSA-certified clear title central filing 

systems. There are 19 States currently 

operating clear title central filing 

systems certified by GIPSA. Some of 

these States’ clear title central filing 

systems cover all farm products 

produced in the State, while other 

State’s systems cover only certain farm 

products. A listing of the States with 

GIPSA-certified clear title certified 

central filing systems is available 

through the Internet on the GIPSA Web 

site (go to http://www.gipsa/usda/gov, 

click on ‘‘Learn About Clear Title Farm 

Products,’’ go to‘‘Regulations Under the 

Food Security Act’’at the bottom of the 

page and then click on the highlighted 

‘‘Clear Title Notices’’). Farm products 

covered by a State’s clear title central 

filing system are also identified through 

the GIPSA Web site. 

This interim rule’s most significant 

benefit is enhanced protection of the 

personal identities of debtors, primarily 

producers of farm products, whose 

social security numbers or, if they are 

incorporated as a business, IRS taxpayer 

identification numbers are now 

provided on States’ master lists. These 

master lists, whose purpose is to 

provide buyers of farm products the 

ability to check for liens against the 

farm product the buyer is interested in, 

are made available to the public in 

different ways by different States. By 

providing States the alternative of 

identifying debtors by an approved 

unique identifier other than by social 

security number or IRS taxpayer 

identification number, GIPSA believes 

this interim rule mitigates the risk of 

identity theft. 

The producers of farm products, 

generally the debtors in a State’s central 

filing system, and lenders will also 

benefit from the added flexibility of not 

having to sign an EFS and related 

documents, thus facilitating their ability 

to file these documents. The ability to 

authorize or otherwise authenticate the 

EFS may also save them time and 

money in reproduction and delivery 

expenses. This interim rule’s revision of 

some current signature requirements, 

which will enhance a lender’s electronic 

filing of security interests, and the 

interim rule’s simplification of the 

description of the location of the farm 

product should also enhance the 

timeliness and effectiveness of both a 

State’s operation of, and a farm product 

buyer’s use of, a State’s GIPSA-certified 

clear title central filing system. 

Costs to implement this interim rule’s 

changes will fall primarily on State 

Departments of State that maintain 

GIPSA-certified clear title central filing 

systems. Costs associated with 

implementing the changes specified in 

this interim rule involve the States’

development of unique identifiers, 

changing how debtor’s and lender’s 

documents can be submitted to the 

States, and approval by GIPSA of these 

modified clear title central filing 

systems if the changes take the form of 

amendments to a GIPSA-certified clear 

title central filing system. If the changes 

result in a State developing a new 

central filing system, that system will 

have to be certified by GIPSA. We 

believe most State changes will come to 

GIPSA as requests for amendments to 

existing central filing systems. Given the 

variety of State-specific systems, it is 

difficult to estimate the cost of these 

changes, but we expect each State that 

decides to implement changes will do 

so in the most cost effective way for its 

system. State Departments of State are 

not classified as small entities. 

Lenders to producers of farm products 

may experience some costs, which 

GIPSA anticipates should be relatively 

small in those instances where they do 

arise, in converting their systems to 

accommodate a State’s choice to use 

approved unique identifiers as an 

alternative to social security numbers. 

We do not know how many lenders 

might be affected by these changes, and 

have no reason to believe that small 

lenders will be unduly affected by them 

relative to larger lenders. The Small 

Business Administration (SBA) 

identifies small business size standards 

for business entities grouped according 

to the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) codes, 

and has identified small business 

lending institutions for commercial 

banking (NAICS subsector 445) as those 

entities with assets of $165 million or 

less. Small business consumer lending 

and mortgage and non-mortgage loan 

brokers (NAICS 522291 and 522310, 

respectively) have assets of $6.5 million 

or less. GIPSA believes the costs to 

lenders to accommodate a State?s choice 

to use approved unique identifiers, 

whatever they might be, will be offset by 

the lenders’ cost and time savings 

associated with changed signature 

requirements that facilitate timelier and 

more efficient transmission of an EFS. 

Producers of farm products and 

buyers of farm products should 

experience no additional costs 

associated with this interim rule. The 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
56342 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

majority of these producers and buyers 

of farm products are small entities. 

The SBA small business size 

standards vary for producers of farm 

products, based on the products, but for 

most agricultural producers the small 

business threshold is $0.75 million in 

annual receipts for crop and animal 

production (NAICS 111110—112990). 

The 2002 Agricultural Census reported 

2,100,309 farms had annual sales of 

farm products totaling less than $1 

million, which is the census’ closest 

sales category to SBA’s definition of 

small business producers of farm 

products having annual receipts less 

than $0.75 million. These small 

business farms accounted for 98 percent 

of all farms reported in the census. 

Many buyers of farm products will be 

the same producers discussed above, the 

majority of whom SBA defines as small 

entities. SBA’s small business size 

standards for other buyers of farm 

products vary depending on industry 

sector, and within sectors on the type of 

company. For example, SBA’s small 

business threshold for food 

manufacturers (NAICS subsector 311) 

can be 500, 750, or 1,000 employees, 

depending on the type of food 

manufacturer. SBA’s small business 

threshold for merchant wholesalers of 

non-durable goods (NAICS subsector 

424) is 100 employees. SBA’s small 

business thresholds for food and 

beverage stores are $6.5 million and $25 

million, depending on the type of store. 

Small entities affected by this interim 

rule include primarily producers of farm 

products who will no longer have their 

social security numbers posted for 

public viewing by State certified central 

filing system that opt to use an other 

approved unique identifier. 

GIPSA foresees no substantive change 

to reporting or recordkeeping burden 

imposed on small entities resulting from 

this interim rule. 

Therefore, I certify that this interim 

rule will have no significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities, as required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612). 

Executive Order 12988 

This interim rule has been reviewed 

under E.O. 12988, Civil Justice Reform, 

and is not intended to have retroactive 

effect. This interim rule will not preempt State or local laws, regulations, or 

policies unless they present an 

irreconcilable conflict with this interim 

rule. There are no administrative 

procedures that must be exhausted prior 

to any judicial challenge to the 

provisions of this interim rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501—

3520), the information collection or 

recordkeeping requirements included in 

this rule have been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under OMB control number 

0580–0016. This interim rule will add 

the OMB control number at the end of 

each section of the regulations 

previously approved for information 

collection activities. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

We are committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 205 

Agricultural commodities, Archives 

and records, Intergovernmental 

relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, GIPSA amends 9 CFR part 

205 as follows: 

PART 205—CLEAR TITLE—

PROTECTION FOR PURCHASERS OF 

FARM PRODUCTS 

■ 1. Revise the authority citation to read 

as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1631; 7 CFR 2.22 and 

2.81. 

■ 2. Amend § 205.1 as follows: 

■ a. Remove paragraph designations (a) 

through (i) and arrange the terms in 

alphabetical order. 

■ b. Add a definition of ‘‘approved 

unique identifier,’’ in alphabetical 

order, to read as follows: 

§ 205.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Approved Unique Identifier means a 

number, combination of numbers and 

letters, or other identifier selected by the 

Secretary of State using a selection 

system or method approved by the 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 205.101 as follows: 

■ a. Remove the word ‘‘and’’ at the end 

of paragraph (b)(10). 

■ b. Redesignate paragraph (b)(11) as 

paragraph (b)(12). 

■ c. Add new paragraph (b)(11) to read 

as set forth below. 

■ d. In newly redesignated paragraph, 

(b)(12)(ii), add a comma after the word 

‘‘rules’’. 

■ e. In paragraph (c), remove the words 

‘‘Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration Packers and 

Stockyards Programs’’ and add the 

words ‘‘Packers and Stockyards 

Program, Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)’’ in 

their place. 

■ f. In paragraph (e), removing the 

words ‘‘the Act’’ and adding the words 

‘‘the Section’’ in their place both times 

they appear. 

■ g. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.101 Certification—request and 

processing. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(11) If a unique identifier will be used 

in the system, explain how the unique 

identifier will be selected and how it 

will be used by the system, including, 

but not limited to, how lists will be 

organized, and how searches may be 

performed, using the unique identifier. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 4. Amend § 205.102 by adding an 

information collection citation at the 

end of the section to read as follows: 

§ 205.102 Name of person subjecting a 

farm product to a security interest, on EFS 

and master list—format. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 5. Amend § 205.103, as follows: 

■ a. Revise paragraph (a)(3) to read as 

set forth below. 

■ b. Revise paragraph (a)(5), to read as 

set forth below. 

■ c. Amend § 205.103 by adding an 

information collection citation at the 

end of the section to read as set forth 

below: 

§ 205.103 EFS—minimum information. 

(a) * * * 

(3) Each county or parish in the same 

State where the farm product is 

produced or located; 

(4) * * * 

(5) Social security number or other 

approved unique identifier or, if other 

than a natural person, IRS taxpayer 

identification number or other approved 

unique identifier of each such person; 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 6. Amend § 205.104 as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph, (a)(3), add the words 

‘‘or located’’ after the word ‘‘produced’’. 

■ b. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 56343 

§ 205.104 Registration of buyer, 

commission merchant, or selling agent—

minimum information. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 7. Amend § 205.105 as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (a), in the first 

sentence, add the words ‘‘or located’’

after the word ‘‘produced’’. 

■ b. In paragraph (a), in both of the 

following places in the last sentence, 

add the words ‘‘or approved unique 

identifier’’ after ‘‘in numerical order by 

social security number’’ and after ‘‘IRS 

taxpayer identification number’’. 

■ c. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.105 Master list and portion thereof 

distributed to registrants—format. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 8. Amend § 205.106 as follows: 

■ a. Remove the words ‘‘subsection 

(c)(4)(D)(iv)’’ and add the words 

‘‘subsection (c)(4)(C)(iv)’’ in their place. 

■ b. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.106 Farm products. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 9. Amend § 205.107 

■ a. In paragraph (b), remove the words 

‘‘subsection (c)(4)(F)’’ and add the 

words ‘‘subsection (c)(4)(E)’’ in their 

place. 

■ b. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.107 Crop year. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 10. Amend § 205.202 as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (b), remove the words 

‘‘signed by both the secured party and 

the debtor,’’ and add the words ‘‘signed, 

authorized, or otherwise authenticated 

by the debtor’’ in their place. 

■ b. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.202 ‘‘Effective financing statement’’

or EFS. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 11. Amend § 205.203 as follows: 

■ a. Remove the words ‘‘subsection 

(c)(4)(D)’’ and add the words 

‘‘subsection (c)(4)(C)’’ in their place. 

■ b. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.203 Place of filing EFS. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 12. Amend § 205.204 by adding at the 

end of the section an information 

collection citation to read as follows: 

§ 205.204 Filing ‘‘notice’’ of EFS. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

§ 205.205 [Amended] 

■ 13. Amend § 205.205, by removing the 

words ‘‘subsection (c)(4)(H)’’ and adding 

the words ‘‘subsection (c)(4)(G)’’ in their 

place both times they appear. 

■ 14. Amend § 205.206 as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (a), remove the comma 

immediately after the words ‘‘subsection 

(c)(2)’’; remove the words ‘‘subsection 

(c)(4)(D)(iv)’’ and add the words 

‘‘subsection (c)(4)(C)(iv)’’ in their place. 

■ b. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.206 Farm products. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 15. Amend § 205.207 as follows: 

■ a. Revise the section heading to read 

as set forth below. 

■ b. In paragraph (a), remove the words 

‘‘and ‘‘reasonable description of the 

property including county or parish,’’’’

and add the words ‘‘and ‘‘county or 

parish,’’’’ in their place. 

■ c. In paragraph (a), remove the words 

‘‘subsections (c)(4)(D)(iv)’’ and add the 

words ‘‘subsection (c)(4)(C)(iv)’’ in their 

place. 

■ d. In paragraph (c), remove the words 

‘‘product is or is to be produced’’ and 

add the words ‘‘product is produced or 

located’’ in their place. 

■ e. In paragraph (e), in the first 

sentence, remove the words ‘‘and 

property’’. 

■ f. In paragraph (e), in the last 

sentence, remove the words ‘‘and 

location’’. 

■ g. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.207 ‘‘Amount’’ and ‘‘County or 

parish’’. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 16. Amend § 205.208 by adding at the 

end of the section an information 

collection citation to read as follows: 

§ 205.208 Distribution of portions of 

master list—registration—information to 

non-registrants on request. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

■ 17. Amend § 205.209 as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (a), remove the words 

‘‘subsection (c)(4)(E)’’ and add the 

words ‘‘subsection (c)(4)(D)’’ in their 

place. 

■ b. Revise paragraph (c), to read as set 

forth below. 

■ c. In paragraph (d), remove the words 

‘‘contain the signature of the debtor’’

and add the words ‘‘be signed, 

authorized, or otherwise authenticated 

by the debtor’’ in their place. 

■ d. At the end of the section, add an 

information collection citation to read 

as follows: 

§ 205.209 Amendment or continuation of 

EFS. 

* * * * * 

(c) The amendment must be filed in 

the same manner as the original filing. 

Note the requirement of subsection 

(c)(4)(D). The amendment may be filed 

electronically provided a State allows 

electronic filing of financing statements 

without the signature of the debtor 

under applicable State law under 

provisions of the Uniform Commercial 

Code. An electronically filed 

amendment need not be signed. 

However, if an original or reproduced 

paper document is filed, the amendment 

must be signed, authorized, or otherwise 

authenticated by the debtor, and be filed 

by the secured party. 

* * * * * 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

§ 205.210 [Amended] 

■ 18. Amend § 205.210, in paragraph, 

(b), add the words ‘‘or located’’ after the 

word ‘‘produced’’ both times it appears. 

■ 19. Amend § 205.213 by adding an 

information collection citation at the 

end of the section to read as follows: 

§ 205.213 Obligations subject—‘‘person 

indebted’’—‘‘debtor’’. 

* * * * * 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
56344 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0580–0016) 

James E. Link, 

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration. 

[FR Doc. 06–8268 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–KD–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 70 

RIN 3150–AH96 

Facility Change Process Involving 

Items Relied on for Safety 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is amending its 

regulations to clarify a requirement 

pertaining to items relied on for safety 

(IROFS). This rulemaking corrects an 

inconsistency in the regulations 

pertaining to IROFS. 

DATES: The final rule is effective on 

December 11, 2006, unless significant 

adverse comments are received by 

October 27, 2006. As detailed in the 

Procedural Background section, a 

significant adverse comment is a 

comment where the commenter 

explains why the rule would be 

inappropriate, including challenges to 

the rule’s underlying premise or 

approach, or would be ineffective or 

unacceptable without a change. If the 

NRC receives any significant adverse 

comments, the NRC will publish a 

document that withdraws the direct 

final rule and addresses the comments 

received in a final rule as a response to 

the companion proposed rule published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any one of the following methods. 

Please include the following number 

(RIN 3150–AH96) in the subject line of 

your comments. Comments on 

rulemakings submitted in writing or in 

electronic form will be made available 

for public inspection. Because your 

comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information, 

the NRC cautions you against including 

personal information such as social 

security numbers and birth dates in 

your submission. 

Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

E-mail comments to: SECY@nrc.gov. If 

you do not receive a reply e-mail 

confirming that we have received your 

comments, contact us directly at (301) 

415–1966. You may also submit 

comments via the NRC’s rulemaking 

Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. 

Address questions about our rulemaking 

website to Carol Gallagher (301) 415–

5905; e-mail cag@nrc.gov. Comments 

can also be submitted via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 

Federal workdays. (Telephone (301) 

415–1966). 

Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 

415–1101. 

Publicly available documents related 

to this rulemaking may be viewed 

electronically on the public computers 

located at the NRC’s Public Document 

Room (PDR), O1 F21, One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. The PDR reproduction 

contractor will copy documents for a 

fee. Selected documents, including 

comments, may be viewed and 

downloaded electronically via the NRC 

rulemaking Web site at http:// 

ruleforum.llnl.gov. 

Publicly available documents created 

or received at the NRC after November 

1, 1999, are available electronically at 

the NRC’s Electronic Reading Room at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. From this site, the public 

can gain entry into the NRC’s 

Agencywide Document Access and 

Management System (ADAMS), which 

provides text and image files of NRC’s 

public documents. If you do not have 

access to ADAMS or if there are 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, contact the NRC 

PDR Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 

301–415–4737 or by e-mail to 

pdr@nrc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Anthony N. Tse, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, telephone 

(301) 415–6233, e-mail ant@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

NRC’s regulations at 10 CFR part 70 

govern the domestic licensing of special 

nuclear material (SNM), including the 

licensing of uranium enrichment 

facilities. On September 18, 2000 (65 FR 

56211), the NRC added subpart H 

requirements (§§ 70.60 to 70.76) to 10 

CFR part 70. Subpart H applies to 

licensees possessing greater than a 

critical mass of SNM, such as those 

engaged in enriched uranium 

processing, fabrication of uranium fuel 

or fuel assemblies, enriched uranium 

hexafluoride conversion, plutonium 

processing, fabrication of mixed-oxide 

fuel or fuel assemblies, and the scrap 

recovery of SNM. Section 70.61 sets 

forth performance requirements, and 

requires that the controls needed to 

meet the performance requirements be 

designated as IROFS. Section 70.62 

requires the establishment of a safety 

program based on an integrated safety 

analysis (ISA). Under § 70.65, a 

summary of the ISA must be submitted 

to the NRC for approval, and the 

summary must contain the IROFS upon 

which the licensee relies in order to 

meet the performance requirements. In 

§ 70.4, the definition of IROFS specifies 

that, in addition to the IROFS needed to 

meet the performance requirements in 

§ 70.61 (i.e., the minimum set), a 

licensee may designate additional 

IROFS (i.e., beyond those in the 

minimum set necessary for compliance 

with the performance requirements). 

The only revision to the subpart H 

requirements now being made is to 10 

CFR 70.72(c)(2), as discussed further in 

this document. 

Discussion 

Section 70.72 contains requirements 

which control changes licensees (subject 

to subpart H) make to their facilities, 

and specifies criteria for determining if 

these changes require the NRC staff’s 

review and approval before they are 

made. Section 70.72(c)(2) specifies that 

a licensee may remove an IROFS that is 

listed in the ISA summary, without 

prior NRC approval, if the licensee 

replaces the IROFS with an equivalent 

replacement of the safety function. 

Unlike other subpart H provisions (i.e., 

§ 70.72(c)(3) and paragraphs (a)(4) and 

(a)(5) of Appendix A to Part 70), which 

distinguish between the minimum set of 

IROFS needed to meet the performance 

requirements and the larger set of IROFS 

a licensee may choose to identify, 

§ 70.72(c)(2) does not make this 

distinction in stating as follows: 

(c) The licensee may make changes to the 

site, structures, processes, systems, 

equipment, components, computer programs, 

and activities of personnel, without prior 

Commission approval, if the change * * * 

(2) Does not remove, without at least an 

equivalent replacement of the safety 

function, an item relied on for safety that is 

listed in the integrated safety analysis 

summary. 

Questions have arisen about whether 

changes involving licensee-identified 

IROFS that are not needed to meet the 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES